Ebro River | river, Spain | Britannica.com Ebro River Alternative Titles: Hiberus River, Iberus River, Río Ebro Related Topics Tortosa Ebro River, Spanish Río Ebro, Latin Iberus or Hiberus, river , the longest in Spain . The Ebro rises in springs at Fontibre near Reinosa in the Cantabrian Mountains , in the Cantabria province of northern Spain. It flows for 565 miles (910 km) in a southeasterly course to its delta on the Mediterranean coast in Tarragona province, midway between Barcelona and Valencia. The Ebro has the greatest discharge of any Spanish river, and its drainage basin, at 33,000 square miles (85,500 square km), is the largest in Spain; the river drains about one-sixth of the country. Because it plunges through the coastal mountain ranges by a series of deep gorges and defiles, the Ebro is navigable upstream for only 15 miles (25 km), from its delta to the city of Tortosa . Ebro River at Miranda de Ebro, Spain.

Juanjo Toreador The Ebro’s interior basin is arid, poor, and sparsely populated. Irrigation has been intensified there since the mid-20th century—though it is still limited to the main floodplains in the middle reaches of the river between Tudela, Navarra , and Zaragoza (site of the Imperial Canal system, begun in the 16th century) and to the interfluves on the north-central plain around Caspe—and is augmented by the Lodosa and Tauste canals. The modern networks of irrigation canals between the Bárdenas project and the Monegros and Cinca valleys are impressive. The upper part of the Ebro River basin, the Rioja Alta, around Logroño , gives its name to the Rioja wine produced there. The Ebro River receives water from more than 200 tributaries. Those on the left bank (including the Segre-Cinca, Gállego, and Aragón rivers), which originate in the rainy Pyrenees , contribute the overwhelming majority of the Ebro’s volume; the right-bank tributaries are smaller and originate in the Iberian Cordillera.

The largest tributaries have been utilized for hydroelectric power and irrigation. A system of major dams produces a significant portion of Spain ’s hydroelectric power, chiefly in the upper La Noguera valleys. Extensive lignite deposits in the southeastern, or lower, part of the basin are used to produce thermoelectric power. The River Ebro River Ebro : (Iberus or Hiberus-Latin, Ebre-Cat) Length : 910 km Basin area : 85,362 km², some 17% of Spain's surface area (445 Km2 in Andorra, 502 Km2 in France, the rest in Spain ) Flow at mouth: 426 m3/s in 1994 (22% less than in 1971) Main tributaries: Jalón, Gállego, Cinca-Segre, Aragón click to see full image The River Ebro has the greatest discharge of any Iberian river, and is the longest in Spain, and second only to the Tajo ( Tagus, in thoery, in English) in Iberia .

Its importance is reflected in the name of Peninsula, which almost certainly comes from the river, first known as the Iber and Iberus and Ebro, and not the other way around. It was first used in the 6th century BC by a Greek author in reference to the Iberians, or the people who lived along the Iberus ( Ebro ) river. Ultimately the word may well derive from the Basque words ibai (river) and ibar (valley), and these from ur meaning water. Linguists have noted similarities with the names of 200 other European rivers and streams (e.g. Ibar in Serbia, Ebrach and several Eberbach in Germany, Irwell in The UK) giving a tantalising clue as to a form of Basque being once spoken throughout Europe before the arrival of Indo-European tribes and languages. The source of the Ebro is at the aptly named Pico de los Tres Mares (peak of three seas - which gives birth to three rivers) near Reinosa in the Cordillera Cantábrica in Cantabria, barely 80km???? from the Atlantic coast.

However, the river's source is often given a few kilometres downstream at Fontibre, As it moves out of the Cordillera it cuts eastwards across the Peninsula, forming the Ebro Depression and effectively separating the Pyrenees from the Sístema Ibérica. The north bank of the river is fed first by the rivers of the Cordillera Cantábrica and then by those of the Pyrenees, including the Aragón, Gállego and Cinca-Segre, and to the south generally with a lower discharge, by tributaries from the Sistema Ibérico, including the Oja, Iregua, Jalón and Guadalope. Consequently, the Ebro can be said to drain much of the southern Pyrenees and the northern Sistema Ibérico. Although the climate at its source is Atlantic, most of the Ebro 's journey is accompanied by a continental climate with low rainfall, scorching summers and cold, dry winters.. This is particularly the case of the arid expanses of central Aragon isolated by oceanic influences, particularly in a triangle formed between Zaragoza, Alcañiz and Lleida. From here it moves into Mediterranean climes proper.

Although the Ebro has a significant discharge (for a Spanish river) this flow is irregular during the year with low levels at the end of summer and high levels during the spring melt of the Pyrenees, leading to a danger of flooding along much of its easterly length. This is surely what Strabo was referring to in his first century ' Geography' see here This behaviour of the tides, then, according to his account, is general along the whole circuit of the ocean-coast, whereas the behaviour of the Iberus River is "novel, and peculiar," he says, to that river, namely: it floods the country in some places, even independently of rains or snows, when the north winds blow to excess; and the lake through which the river flows is the cause of this, since the lake-water is by the winds driven out of the lake along with the river-water.

(Although flooding can still be serious, it has been to a great extent been tamed by the building of dams) Delta de Ebro Photos by Joan Pigem After travelling across Castilla-Leon, Pais Vasco, La Rioja, Navarra, Aragon and Catalonia, and Mirando de Ebro, Haro, Logroño, Tudela, Zaragoza and Tortosa, the river finally reaches the Mediterranean where it fans out to form the Delta de Ebro covering 320 km², one of the most important wetlands in Europe . Although the existence of the Delta is a natural phenomenon, much of its current shape and extent is man-induced from upstream deforestation and overgrazing of the sierras of its huge catchment area, particularly as the river passed through Aragon . In the 4th century C.E. for example the Roman town of Amposta was port with a seafront (see map). The process was interrupted in the mid-twentieth century when dam-building (Ebro, Mequinenza and Ribarroja) began to block the provision of sediments. In recent years, the Delta has begun to recede and is thought to be particularly at threat from hypothetical sea-level rises over the next century.

The threat is double: one from sea level rise; and two and probably currently more of a danger from sinking without the constant top-up of sediments from upstream.Intensive rice farming covers 60% of the delta. Despite having the greatest discharge of any Spanish river, irrigation is responsible for a significant hydrological deficit: an average of 300 m3/s is taken off the river, reducing average natural flow from 745 m3/s to 430. Although the PNH (a plan to deliver much of the river's water south) has been shelved, the revealing of large deposits of heavy metal and radioactive waste at the Flix reservoir, has cast a new shadow on the river's and delta's future. MORE TO COME Fight for the Ebro River Delta Fight for the Ebro River Delta Support the fight for the Ebro River Delta! Sign the petition: THE RIVER The River Ebro is one of the longest rivers in Spain, with a length of 930 Km and a River Basin of 86,100 Km2.

Its source is in Fontibre (Cantabria), and it passes through nine Autonomous Communities before flowing into the Mediterranean sea where it forms the Ebro Delta (Catalonia). It is the third longest river in the Mediterranean, after the Rhone and the Nile. Its ecological richness is recognized at national and international levels. Most of the Delta is a National Park, recognized as being of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention. It is a Special Protection Area for Birds (SPAB - 79/409/CEE), a Community Interest Area (CIA - 85/337/EEC) and, furthermore, it is currently under review to be declared a Biosphere Reserve (UNESCO). THE PROBLEMS Environmental disaster The intense use of its water throughout the Ebro Basin puts the river under strong pressure and affects its ecological functionality. The Delta is the most vulnerable part of the river, altered by the drastic reduction of water and sediment flows. This accelerates the deterioration of its water quality, with important pollution episodes, anoxia and salinization which cause strong imbalances in its natural ecosystems.

This loss of biodiversity enhances the development of alien species, as well as the deterioration and disappearance of all kinds of life in the wetland, the coastal waters and the sea. Currently, more than 90% of the sediments of the Basin are retained behind upstream dams. This lack of sediment flow causes important problems of regression and subsidence of the Delta. Research developed both by the Spanish Ministry and Catalonian Government, show clearly the loss of deltaic surface, as the rise of the sea level due to climate change worsens the effects of the lack of sediments. Nonetheless, the draft of the Ebro River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) currently on the table does not propose any effective measures to improve this situation, nor does it monitor the evolution of environmental conditions, and so infringes almost all the environmental legislation currently in force. Lack of democracy The nine autonomous Communities involved definitely do not promote sustainable and integrated management. Instead, they support unlimited demand to increase water extractions for new irrigation areas and unsustainable uses, without taking into account the ecological necessities of the river. Environmentally relevant amendments to the RBMP draft were not taken in account and decisions are being taken in line with the economic and political interests of only a few.

In fact, the agro-industrial lobby is extremely strong and aggressive in this River Basin because more than 90% of the basin’s water is used for irrigation and a huge interest exists in further developing irrigation channels to quench the thirst of highly polluting industrial crops and GMOs. The Ebro Water Basin Authority still maintains the structure of the irrigation organization as which it was originally set up a century ago and it even acts in representation of the Spanish Environmental Ministry. This body includes in the Ebro River RBMP all the requirements and claims of this interest group without any technical or legal rigour. Economic fraud This RBMP will cost Spanish citizens about 800 M€/year for the 6 year period of this plan, but no cost-benefit analysis has been made, so it is impossible to know if any of these investments will effectively improve environmental quality in the basin or who is really benefitting from them. Economic accounts are extremely obscure, as the RBMP admits: “in many cases the identification of costs and revenues in the Ebro Basin are a mere estimation”. They also state that “the proliferation of public and private companies involved in water management in the basin, are an obstacle for the transparency of accountability of investments”.

As a consequence, cost recovery is just as obscure as the general accounts. Estimated data in the RBMP is not realistic and according to our analysis this is actually limited to less than10% of real investment costs. No auditing is ever done to verify if public money is properly spent and we detected different accounting “tricks” which overrate infrastructure’s yields and undervalues their total cost. Indeed, environmental costs are identified as the costs of environmental measures, which leads to false figures, “end of the pipe” solutions and does not identify the actors who determine the pressures. Therefore, this RBMP doesn’t respect the “polluter pays” principle nor does it use economic tools to enhance environmentally better practices in the Basin. The Ebro River Of Spain - WorldAtlas.com Geography The Ebro River Of Spain The Ebro covers 578 miles between the mountains near Pico Tres Mares and the Mediterranean coast at Tarragona. Fertile farmlands and rural Spanish communities along the Ebro River. 5. Description The Ebro River is one of the most important rivers on the Iberian Peninsula in Spain, and the second longest river therein.

The river, along with Tagus, has the second largest discharge volume after only the Duero River. The flow of the Ebro River is to the southeast course to its delta, which is 910 kilometers away from it source in Pico Tres Mares, emptying into the Atlantic in the Tarragona Province. The drainage basin of the Ebro River is the largest in Spain at 33,000 square miles. It receives water from nearly 200 tributaries and is used for the production of hydroelectricity . 4. Historical Role The Ebro River was used as the dividing line between the Republic of Rome and the Carthaginians from 264 BC until 241 BC after the First Punic War. The Second Punic War fought between the Romans and the Hannibal’s after the witness of treaty violation by the Romans made the city of Saguntum their protectorate. The earliest monastery of Royal Monastery of Our Lady of the Wheel is also located near the banks of the Ebro River in Aragon, which was established in AD 1202. This monastery also carries a historical significance because of the building of first waterwheel for the generation of power.

The flow of the Ebro River diverts from here for creating a hydrological central heating system for the buildings. The year 1938 also witnessed the Battle of Ebro for defeating the Republican forces. 3. Modern Significance There are many comfortable accommodations made for the tourists near the Ebro River so that people can enjoy fishing activities, bird watching, walking around and pursue various activities in the rural towns of Catalonia. The "home stay" varieties of accommodations provide ideal facilities for families or groups of friends. Such activities as canoeing, cycling, and wine tours are also organized. There are many major wine regions near the river, including La Rioja, Alava, Navarra, and Zaragoza. However, the focus is on the Rioja Wine, which provides traditional quality to the tourists. The wildlife of the area is the main attraction for the tourists as the bird watchers can spot terns, flamingos, and reed warblers, and in the whole of the Europe, this is also known as one of the best fishing destinations. 2. Habitat and Biodiversity The area is also rich in habitats for many fish species.

They are bass, monster Wels catfish, zander, and carp fishes found here in abundance, as well as Crucian carp, Common and Mirror carp, roach, daces, Black bass, chubs, Sea bass, gudgeons, and many more species. Among the many migratory birds found here include the Audouin’s gulls, and nearly 15,000 pairs are annually recorded near the delta. 1. Environmental Threats and Conservation The major threats posed the river involve government actions, such as wanting to divert its water source to the drier regions in other parts of Spain. The sediments in the region protect the wetlands but, with the construction of the dams, this effect is reduced by 90%. So, for the purpose of conservation, the Ebro River Basin Management Plan was initiated, in which the parts of the Ebro's water will be distributed equally, but still this also faced rejection by a number of critics. This page was last modified on June 24, 2016.

On WorldAtlas.com Basque Country - Travel Guide to the Basque Country in Spain Spain Old Town, Bilbao Guide to Basque Country The Basque Country in the North of Spain is a mass of green hills, low roof-lines, and brightly coloured fishing villages. This is where you can find the once industrial city of Bilbao, which has been reborn as an art and architectural village. Santander was at one time the main seaport for the Old Castile in the Bay of Biscay, in a area full of mountains lodged between the Asturias and the Basque Country. You can find cool summer beaches in Santander with beautiful mountainous views. The semi self ruling Basque Country, with its rainy, jagged coastline, is a cultural and national place in the Spanish state. Navarra is sometimes referred to as ‘Basque in the Pyrenees’ and you will find Spain’s wine country in La Rioja, squeezed between the Ebro River and the Sierra de la Demand. The Basques are renowned for competition and it is said they will bet on anything that has numbers and moves.

San Sebastian is a big city lying in the Basque Region and is in the same region as the Monte Urgull, lgueldo and Ulía, whilst the river Urumea runs through the middle. San Sebastian is a beautiful beach resort, with pristine white sand. The town is modern and cosmopolitan where trees line the large streets as well as being picturesque. There is a wonderful fishing port not to be missed where excellent Spanish restaurants compete with each other for business serving excellent local Tapas known as "Pintxos". In the same area will come across the city’s oldest two churches, the Santa Maria Baroque Church and the Gothic Church of San Vicente. The beach in La Concha is beautiful and well worth a visit. It creates an enchanting view point from the city tumbling down to the Bay of Biscay. Add this to the Island of Santa Clara and lgueldo and the Montes Urgull, it makes a bay of obvious beauty. Vitoria is another village located in the middle of the Basque Country some 66km south of Bilbao, 114 km from San Sebastian and 351 km from Madrid.

Bilbao airport is one of the most outstanding renovations, which is quickly seeing Bilbao moving with the times and enticing tourists. The airport is just 12 kilometres from the Biscay capital, in the municipality of Loiu. Bilbao airport has dealt with the consistent increase in traffic over the last few years, which is mainly domestic traffic. Further improvements are being carried out at the airport In order to improve airport operations. Ebro Ebro ▼ Primary Sources ▼ Ebro In April 1938 the Nationalist Army broke through the Republican defences and reached the sea. General Francisco Franco now moved his troops towards Valencia with the objective of encircling Madrid and the central front. Juan Negrin , in an attempt to relieve the pressure on the Spanish capital, ordered an attack across the fast-flowing Ebro. General Juan Modesto , a member of the Communist Party (PCE) , was placed in charge of the offensive. Over 80,000 Republican troops, including the 15th International Brigade and the British Battalion , began crossing the river in boats on 25th July. The men then moved forward towards Corbera and Gandesa.

On 26th July the Republican Army attempted to capture Hill 481, a key position at Gandesa. Hill 481 was well protected with barbed wire, trenches and bunkers. The Republicans suffered heavy casualties and after six days was forced to retreat to Hill 666 on the Sierra Pandols. It successfully defended the hill from a Nationalist offensive in September but once again large numbers were killed. Spanish Civil War Encyclopedia On 23rd September, Juan Negrin , head of the Republican government, announced at the League of Nations in Geneva that the International Brigades would be unilaterally withdrawn from Spain . That night the 15th Brigade and the British Battalion moved back across the River Ebro and began their journey out of the country. The rest of the Republican Army remained and had to endure continuous attacks from the Condor Legion . General Gonzalo Queipo de Llano also brought forward 500 cannon which fired an average of 13,500 rounds a day at the Republicans. By the middle of November, the Republicans were forced to retreat.

During the battle of Ebro the Nationalist Army had 6,500 killed and nearly 30,000 wounded. These were the worst casualties of the war but it finally destroyed the Republican Army as a fighting force. ▲ Main Article ▲ Primary Sources (1) Jack Jones , was with the International Brigades at Ebro. He wrote about his experiences in his autobiography, Union Man (1986) People have asked me: "Did you kill anyone in Spain"? Frankly, I do not know, but it is possible. In that engagement I didn't think of death, yet people were being killed and wounded by my side. In battle, one experiences a numbness that is difficult to describe; one's first impulse is to protect oneself as much as possible and then to fire in the direction of the enemy. One tries to pinpoint a target, but almost in a frenzy. To keep cool and calm in such circumstances is an ideal not easily achieved. Nor did I have great confidence in the accuracy of my rifle. It was a Remington-type rifle, Russian made, and after firing a few rounds the bolt got very hot.

All I do know is that some of my comrades were killed and wounded and men on the other side suffered the same fate. That is war. There were many casualties and I became one of them. Once more I had clambered up the hill with my comrades, taking cover where we could and firing at the enemy wherever he appeared. The bullets of the snipers whizzed over, grenades and shells were striking the ground, throwing up earth and dust and showering us with shrapnel. Suddenly my shoulder and right arm went numb. Blood gushed from my shoulder and I couldn't lift my rifle. I could do nothing but lie where I was. Near me a comrade had been killed and I could hear the cries of others, complaining of their wounds. While I was lying there, to make things worse, a spray of shrapnel hit my right arm. The stretcher bearers were doing their best but could hardly keep up with the number of casualties. As night fell I made my own way, crawling to the bottom of the hill. I was taken with other wounded men down the line to an emergency field hospital at Mora del Ebro where I was given an anti-tetanus injection.

The place was like an abattoir; there was blood and the smell of blood everywhere. (2) Hugh Thomas, The Spanish Civil War (1961) A secret F.A.I. - Federacion Anarquista Iberica - circular of September 1938 pointed out that of 7,000 promotions in the Army since May 5,500 had been Communists. In the Army of the Ebro out of 27 brigades, 25 were commanded by Communists, while all 9 divisional commanders, 3 army corps commanders, and the supreme commander (Modesto) were Communists. This was the most extreme case of Communist control, but the proportions for the Anarchists were nearly as depressing elsewhere. In all six armies of Republican Spain the Anarchists believed the proportions to be 163 Communist brigade commanders to 33 Anarchists, 61 divisional commanders to 9 Anarchists, 15 army corps commanders to 2 Anarchists (with 4 Anarchist sympathizers), and 3 Communist army commanders, 2 sympathizers and one neutral. (3) Tom Murray took part in the Ebro offensive.

He wrote about his experience in Voices From the Spanish Civil War (1986) The crossing of the Ebro at night was a remarkable performance. The pontoons consisted of narrow buoyant sections tied together and men would sit straddled across the junctions of these sections to hold them firm, because the Ebro was a very fast-flowing river. And then others went across in boats. The mules were swum across. We went across the pontoons carrying our weapons, our machine guns. We had light machine guns as well as the heavy ones. We had five machine gun groups in our Company. No two people had to be on one section at the same time. We got across all right, lined up and marched up to the top of the hill. The Fascists got scared stiff. They had been about to celebrate Mass, some of them, down in the valley, and there were tons, great streams of white muslin, which had been part of the preparation for this mass. We used them as mosquito nets, as a matter of fact, later on. But we crossed the Ebro and made a rapid advance towards Gandesa.

The real fighting then began, because the Nazi German planes were sent back and they bombed us like the devil. However we got our machine guns set up and we defended ourselves. I think we maybe made a tactical mistake in not rushing down right past and round Gandcsa to prevent the Fascists fortifying it, which they did next day. (4) Luis Bolin , Spain, the Vital Years (1967) The Red onslaught on the Ebro was launched on 25 July. For some time we had known that our opponents were planning to cross the river, but so stealthily was the operation carried out and so well had it been rehearsed beforehand that part of our troops were taken by surprise. Hundreds of boats, built in Barcelona, had been stored near the river in preparation for the attack. The sluggish waters of the Ebro, wide in all places, deep in some, fordable at others, were crossed by the enemy at night. Bridges were rapidly set up. Some of our positions were overwhelmed; others were isolated and surrounded by the triumphant Republicans. Our opponents fought well, at times outstandingly well, yet there were signs of demoralization in their ranks.

Threats of drastic punishments were being circulated to deter their troops from giving way to negligence or cowardice. Any man who lost his rifle would be shot without trial and his name would be published; soldiers who abandoned their posts or inflicted wounds upon themselves would also be executed. Those who failed to hold their ground would be forced to recapture it with their officers marching in front. Though these threats were carried out, the Reds surrendered daily in greater numbers, trusting more in the treatment they hoped to receive from us than in the fate that awaited them should they return defeated and unscathed. Combatants were urged to write to the Government, declaring their will to win or die, but instead of doing this units on their way to the Front complained they were being led to a slaughter-house. Many preferred to desert and fight on our side, a tendency shared alike by raw recruits and hardened veterans, some of whom, at the outbreak of hostilities, had vociferously proclaimed their unshakable abhorrence of all that we stood for. Including prisoners, the battle of the Ebro cost us 41,414 casualties, the enemy 70,000.

The so-called 'Army of Catalonia' was destroyed, International Brigades faded from the picture, and on the enemy side the resultant shortage of manpower was such that convicts were freely pardoned provided they immediately enlisted. Out of a total of 19,653 men captured during this battle, 45 per cent were approximately the same age as our soldiers, 10 per cent were older, the remaining 45 per cent younger. The Reds were also promoting untrained men and threatening relatives of deserters with reprisals of the utmost severity. (5) Lillian Urmston , was interviewed about her experiences at Ebro during the Spanish Civil War in October 1938. We moved forward to just a few kilometres from the river Ebro. We took a huge cave - our first bomb-proof hospital, and installed 120 beds. For a few days the wounded poured in. Ambulances were continually arriving, day and night. Then rumours began to circulate that hundreds of wounded were lying on the other side of the river, and could not be brought across. The fascist aviators were bombing the pontoon bridges all day long, and all night long our fortification battalions were repairing them.

Also, almost all the territory which we had taken was within range of the fascist artillery. We were all sick with horror at the thought of this unnecessary suffering, and begged our chiefs to send us across the river ... The following morning, at 1 a.m., the Spanish Medical Director told me to pack equipment and be ready in 20 minutes to move across the river. I hurriedly issued orders, and in a very short time we were ready. I was to go, along with Dr Jolly, the Spanish doctors and sanitarios (medical auxiliaries), and set up as large a hospital as possible. Just as dawn was breaking, we were crossing the newly-repaired pontoon bridges. We had just reached the other side, and our ambulances were toiling along the hastily prepared road, when we heard the familiar cry of 'Aviacion!' Ambulances were pulled up at the side of the road, under the shelter of the cliffs - and we lay in ditches, tense with expectation and apprehension. But it was only our usual early morning caller, the observation plane. We continued our journey for exactly 25 minutes, and then twelve huge bombers came into sight.

We all pulled into an olive grove, just off the road, and hastily camouflaged our ambulances and autochir. Then, a brief whistle - no movement - and we all lay down under trees and bushes. The planes bombed all along the river banks, and roads and crossroads. Our anti-aircraft guns were going magnificently, and managed to bring down one bomber. Suddenly came the familiar rat-tat-tat of machine guns - they were strafing the helpless people who happened to be anywhere in view. At last came a number, six I think, of our pursuit planes, and engaged in a glorious dog fight. It is a most stimulating sight,this, to see our small planes tackling these gigantic bombers. After an hour of this the bombers soared higher, and disappeared. We were all relieved. And weren't we hungry! Rations of bully beef and bread were issued, then we again moved off. At 2 p.m. we reached Santa Magdalena, a huge white hermitage set high on the hills. Rather a landmark - but the only available habitation. We cheerfully acted as charwomen, then quickly set up a hospital.

We were again interrupted by a heavy bombardment - luckily the bombs did not fall too near. By 11 p.m. our hospital was complete, and a steady stream of ambulances started to arrive. We only received the more severely wounded cases and our beds were quickly filled. (6) Gösta Karlsson was born in Hällefors, Västmanland in 1915. In March 1937 Gösta Karlsson went to Spain. He fought at Ebro and was wounded in his face. I had never been in any battle before the offensive at Ebro. I shot a few shots at Ebro in May, but that hardly counts. Then, on the night of the 25th of July, we rowed over the river in boats. When we reached the other side, we were fired at. I jumped out of the boat. I could stand on the bottom. I was going to shoot, but I had got water in the rifle, and had to quickly remove the bolt to dry it out. Then I shot some rounds and threw a grenade up the slope. But by then the Swedish company had already broken through. We rushed forwards.

There were no Fascists left in the positions on the riverside, but they had left a lot of stuff, like ammunition girdles and leather bags. We didn't have anything like that. I carried my ammunition in a trouser leg that had been sewn together. We had used Russian guns first, but they were later exchanged for Czech carbines. The Poles were given the Russian guns, so that each company would have uniform equipment. The offensive continued. You can't remember everything. But I do remember the Scandinavian Death-hill at Corbera. One morning we were going to storm. We advanced towards the Fascist positions, but met heavy defence from the side. We received contra-orders. We had to retreat to our original positions. I was in charge of a light machine-gun together with a Danish guy. When we reached our positions he got a ricochet in his back. It ripped off a little piece of meat. He gave me the machine-gun and said: "Goodbye, comrade! I'm done for." I pulled up his shirt to take a look. It wasn't that bad. The wound was bleeding a lot, but we managed to bandage it. Maybe he had gone into shock.

It was a Czech machine-gun. We took care of it for a long time, the Dane and me - until he was wounded. After that I was alone among the Spaniards. They had never received any military training. At times, when there wasn't much fighting, I would sit and train them, taking my weapon apart and putting it back together. During my time as a conscript back in Sweden you'd got used to that kind of stuff. But I wasn't licensed to use any machine-gun when I left home. You had to learn it all down there." Yes, if you compare it to the conscript days. To go from shooting with a wooden plug to the real thing it can turn out that way. But I saw it more as a job, actually. You went to Spain to help, and part of that help, when you were on the font, was to try and eliminate the enemy. Before we came to Ebro I was already used to it, having to take aim at people and shoot. What you remember is mostly how people around you would get killed or wounded. I saw eight or nine Scandinavians killed in one single artillery-explosion. We were going to relieve the others out on the front.

We marched in column, advancing through a grove, but were discovered by enemy planes, and got all hellfire over us from the artillery. That's when they died. We were headed over a hill. In front of it was another hill, lower than the first. That's where we were going. But we found a cave we could take cover in. There they couldn't reach us with the artillery fire, and we waited in there until it calmed down, before we headed for the positions. If you can really call them positions. There were no trenches. We had to dig little by little. It wasn't easy. You'd start out with a little pit, and make it bigger with time until we had trenches with connections backwards as well. I was wounded three or four days before we were going to be pulled off the front. It took place at Sierra Caballs. I was temporarily outside of the trenches that evening, behind them. They were shooting with grenade launchers in the dark. I heard the hum - sort of like birds, when the grenades go by high above you. But if they hit anywhere close by you don't have any time to hear anything. You just hear a sizzle and then it's over.

The grenade hit close to me. I had a burning sensation in my cheek. I had blood in my eyes and couldn't see anything. I called for the medics. They came, but couldn't see the wound in the dark. I took his hand - and took it to my cheek so he could feel the wound. He bandaged my entire head. The medic a Catalan led me some kilometres backwards to the stretcher carriers. They carried me into a first-aid tent. I was given a shot. Then they lifted me into an ambulance. I fell asleep there and woke up in a hospital. I can't remember where it was situated. I said to a friend: "I think I've gone blind." But then I pulled down the bandage and noticed that I could see perfectly clearly. I had been bleeding a lot, but I hadn't been in much pain. It got worse later on. The piece of shrapnel was stuck in my right cheek. The wound got infected. My whole face swelled up, and then I was in a lot of pain. I was in a convalescent home when they removed it fifteen days later. They were missing material there. So they took the piece out without any anaesthetic.

(7) Reginald Saxton , Heroic Voices of the Spanish Civil War (2009) At the Ebro I was actually there with my mobile laboratory. The frontline was along the Ebro, along the two sides of the river. It was a very well-planned offensive from our side from Catalonia, and it was supposed to have been coordinated with the corresponding attack from the other side, and there were the fascist forces in the middle. We set up a hospital in some caves on our side of the river to receive casualties at the beginning of the attack. We had this hospital in this cave and the cave was on two levels inside. It had been levelled up inside and was very nicely protected by this enormous hill over the top of it. It was lit up with electric lighting, which an American engineer did for us. On one level there was a ward and an operating theatre, and on another level another ward. In the end we found that we were using one ward for Republican soldiers and the other ward for prisoners of war, and in the valley just below the caves were canteens and feeding arrangements, ambulance parks and a tent or two. It was quite well arranged.

Then we had the first casualties brought back across the river to us in this cave. Our transfusion and laboratory was there. It was quite a temporary affair, and as soon as some territory had been cleared on the other side of the river we took this laboratory and mobile service and went across a pontoon bridge. It was very exciting in a way, going across the pontoon bridge, which the Spanish engineers had organized so well across the River Ebro. They had spare pontoons concealed in various places not far away, where there was vegetation or something to hide them from the aviation because there were a lot of planes. Every day the Italian planes would come over and try to destroy this pontoon bridge, and indeed they hit it on numerous occasions. But since it was all in sections, all standard-sized boats, when one was sunk, that evening a similar pontoon was floated into position. The next morning things would be going across again. We went across it at night and there were planes all around even then. We got across and drove up to a farmhouse along very narrow roads. We had to stop every now and then to cut down a tree because the road was not wide enough for this very wide vehicle. Then we set up our little hospital in the farmhouse.

We were digging ourselves shelter there and our driver was digging a trench beside a car. He was a very energetic, strong young man. He dug us a nice shelter, a trench beside the vehicle and he also cut down lots of branches from the trees to camouflage it for when the wounded came in. (8) Patience Darton , quoted in Women's Voices in the Spanish Civil War (1991) The Ebro was where we attacked again; a really big formal attack, not just a holding thing; its doing the attacking. We were right up on the side of the Ebro, in a cave on the south side of the river. The fighting had crossed the Ebro so we didn't get the people back until it was dark, because the bombing and the shelling were so extreme, that you couldn't get them back until it was dark. Then they all streamed in, terribly bad, much worse than we usually had - ever so much worse. The cave was very uncomfortable; it was very dark, very low and all uneven. The metal beds were all higgledy-piggledy over the floor and you could barely see - we hadn't got lights.

We had lights for the theatre, run off of one of our ambulances, but we hadn't got lights in the cave, and we had to do our work by little tiny oil lamps, cans - ordinary tin cans with wick in them with oil. It isn't much light; a miserable little fickle light, and you couldn't see across the cave, and you kept banging yourself on those iron beds. (9) Reginald Saxton , quoted in We Cannot Park on Both Sides (2000) The front line was along the... river. I The left hand bank I was in Republican hands, right hand in Fascist. It was a very well planned offensive ... very well organised. As soon as some territory had been cleared on the other side of the river... we ... went across a pontoon bridge. It was very exciting in a way, going across a pontoon bridge which the Spanish engineers had organised so well. They had spare pontoons camouflaged in various places not far away to hide them from the aviation. Every day Italian planes would come over and try and destroy the pontoon bridge. Indeed they hit it on numerous occasions, but since it was all sections standard size boats...

the same evening an exactly similar pontoon was floated into position and things were got going again. (10) John Gates , The Story of an American Communist (1959) I was now with a group of three. We ran into a fascist foot patrol but got away successfully into the brush. Deciding now that it was unsafe to move by daylight, we hid and went to sleep, and moved only under cover of the dark. That night we reached the river near the town of Mora del Ebro. We could find no boats, no materials with which to build a raft. Coming upon a small house, we decided to go in. I was leading the way, grenade in hand, when from inside came a call: "Who's there?" My impulse was to throw the grenade and run, but I was suddenly struck by the realization that the words had been spoken in English and the voice sounded like George Watt, who had been in the rear of our column the previous night. I answered "It's me." Sure enough out came George and several other of our men. They had bedded down for the night-very foolishly, I thought, in view of how close they had come to being killed by their own men.

Watt told me later that his group had come just as close to opening fire on us. It made a good story to tell afterwards, and a never-settled debate on which of us had been more unwise. The river was very wide at this point and the current swift. Some of the men were not sure they could make it, so fatigued were we all, but we decided to join forces and swim across at dawn. We stripped naked, threw away all our belongings, and made for the opposite bank. Three of us got across safely just as the day was beginning to break. The bodies of two other men were washed up on the shore several days later. Besides myself, those who made it were Watt and Joseph Hecht, who was later killed in World War II. In the excitement I had kept my hat on. Between the river and the road stretched a field of cockleburrs which we now crossed on our bare, bruised feet. This was the last straw: naked (except for my hat), hungry and exhausted, I felt I could not take another step.

I had sworn never to surrender to the fascists but I told Watt that if they came along just then, I would give up (actually, we would not have had much choice, having no arms). We lay down on the side of the road, with no idea of who might come along, too beat to care much. Suddenly a car drove up, stopped and out stepped two men. Nobody ever looked better to me in all my life-they were Ernest Hemingway and New York Times correspondent Herbert Matthews. We hugged one another, and shook hands. They told us everything they knew - Hemingway, tall and husky, speaking in explosions; Matthews, just as tall but thin, and talking in his reserved way. The main body of the Loyalist army, it seems, had crossed the Ebro, and was now regrouping to make a stand on this side of the river. The writers gave us the good news of the many friends who were safe, and we told them the bad news of some who were not. Facing the other side of the river, Hemingway shook his burly fist. "You fascist bastards haven't won yet," he shouted.

"We'll show you!" We rejoined the 15th Brigade, or rather the pitiful remnants of it. Many were definitely known to be dead, others missing. Men kept trickling across the Ebro, straggling in for weeks afterwards, but scores had been captured by the fascists. During the first few days, I took charge of what was left of the Lincoln Battalion; we were dazed and still tense from our experience. Meanwhile, the enemy conducted air raids daily against our new positions, but we were well scattered and the raids caused more fear than damage. (11) Alvah Bessie , Men in Battle (1939) At Ebro... the country was so mountainous it looked as though a few machine-guns could have held off a million men. We came back down, went up side roads, crossroads, through small towns, and on a hillside near Rasquera we found three of our men: George Watt and John Gates (then adjutant Brigade Commissar), Joe Hecht. They were lying on the ground wrapped in blankets; under the blankets they were naked.

They told us they had swum the Ebro early that morning; that other men had swum and drowned; that they did not know anything of Merriman or Doran, thought they had been captured. They had been to Gandesa, had been cut off there, had fought their way out, travelled at night, been sniped at by artillery. You could see they were reluctant to talk, and so we just sat down with them. Joe looked dead. Below us there were hundreds of men from the British, the Canadian Battalions; a food truck had come up, and they were being fed. A new Matford roadster drove around the hill and stopped near us, and two men got out we recognized. One was tall, thin, dressed in brown corduroy, wearing horn-shelled glasses. He had a long, ascetic face, firm lips, a gloomy look about him. The other was taller, heavy, red-faced, one of the largest men you will ever see; he wore steel-rimmed glasses and a bushy mustache. These were Herbert Matthews of The New York Times and Ernest Hemingway, and they were just as relieved to see us as we were to see them.

We introducd ourselves and they asked questions. They had cigarettes; they gave us Lucky Strikes and Chesterfields. Matthews seemed to be bitter; permanently so. Hemingway was eager as a child, and I smiled remembering the first time I had seen him, at a Writers' Congress in New York. He was making his maiden public speech, and when it didn't read right, he got mad at it, repeating the sentences he had fumbled, with exceptional vehemence. Now he was like a big kid, and you liked him. He asked questions like a kid: "What then? What happened then? And what did you do? And what did he say? And then what did you do?" Matthews said nothing, but he took notes on a folded sheet of paper. "What's your name?" said Hemingway; I told him. "Oh," he said, "I'm awful glad to see you; I've read your stuff." I knew he was glad to see me; it made me feel good, and I felt sorry about the times I had lambasted him in print; I hoped he had forgotten them, or never read them. "Here," he said, reaching in his pocket.

"I've got more." He handed me a full pack of Lucky Strikes. National Water Plan Issues Irrigation in the Ebro delta: are farmers abusing cheap water? Proposed water transfer. Water for irrigation is 100 times cheaper than water for industry Spain uses vast quantities of water. To meet its countryï¿½s needs, the government has resorted to technical solutions such as diverting the Ebro riverï¿½a project that many people have condemned for squandering a precious resource What we call 'the water problem' in Spain is going to become 'the water war', predicted Spanish ecologist Josï¿½ Manuel Naredo in 1997. Three years later, the 400,000 people who marched through the streets of Zaragoza (a town of 650,000 inhabitants) on October 8 appeared to prove him right. Their target was the National Water Plan (NWP), unveiled by the government on September 5. The planï¿½s centrepiece is the diversion of a billion cubic metres of water each year from the River Ebro to occasionally or permanently arid regions on the countryï¿½s Mediterranean coast.

For inhabitants of the province of Aragï¿½n, the 700,000 million pesetas (more than $3.5 billion) that the government intends to spend on building 529 kilometres of new waterways and several dams are simply 700,000 drops of water in a cup that is already spilling over. Aragï¿½n feels robbed. The 400,000 demonstrators may have been exaggerating a little when they shouted that the waters of 'our Ebro' would be used to keep golf courses green, fill swimming pools for tourists and supply amusement parks while others die of thirst and neglect. But as Naredo observes, ï¿½people no longer accept the mainstay of Spanish water policy for the last century, of taking water where you find it and transferring it to where itï¿½s needed.ï¿½ The opponents of the NWP have stepped up their attacks. They say water supplies can no longer be managed on technical criteria alone. The planned diversions are dangerous, they argue, because the Ebro basin has not had a water surplus for the past quarter of a century.

But their main criticism is that the diversion of the river is completely unnecessary. Economic history teacher Enric Tello believes the answer to Spainï¿½s water problems lies in 'reorganizing the supply'. He argues that the country is suffering from 'water schizophrenia' and that 'sooner or later taxpayers will wonder why they are still subsidizing the irrigation of crops that are already being subsidized and are often produced in excessive quantities'. This 'schizophrenia' arises, he says, from the huge gap between the price of water for irrigation, which is almost free, and the much higher cost of water used in cities and industries. So why not try to narrow that gap? The answer could lie in a small detail that both Tello and Naredo point to: Environment Minister Jaume Matas launched the NWP at the headquarters of the Public Works Employersï¿½ Federation. The ministry offers a quite different spin. Officials say demand for water will keep on growing and requires the building of costly aqueducts.

They agree that the irrigated area of around 3.5 million hectares should not be increased, but defend the river diversion plan and talk of building more than 70 new dams at a cost of three thousand billion pesetas (about $15.5 billion) over eight years. All of which clashes with a European Union directive defining every water catchment area as a distinct management unit and ruling out water transfers from one area to another. But the ministry insists it is no longer possible to 'go backwards'. declaring that the NWP 'will solve the water problem for good'. Spainï¿½s 1,070 big dams already make it the worldï¿½s leading country in terms of proportion of dam-created lakes to total land mass. The fact is, however, that many serve no purpose, since for months on end they are filled to only five or 10 percent capacity. Spain began its first major river diversion scheme in the 1960s by linking the Tagus in the west and centre-west to the Segura in the southeastï¿½a transfer of 600 million cubic metres of water a year.

But in 1999, the province of Castilla, which the Tagus flows through, refused to supply a drop more than 40 million cubic metres, less than 10 percent of the amount originally planned. What had happened? Maize growing, which requires a lot of water, expanded in the regions along the Tagus (the Mancha and the Meseta). To irrigate todayï¿½s 150,000 hectares of maize, you need to draw heavily on underground water and also pump more from the Tagus. In Murcia (watered by the Segura), which benefits from the diversion scheme, irrigated areas have grown enormously. Biologist Josï¿½ Luis Benito notes that 'absurd though it might seem, the diversion of the Tagus has turned a hitherto occasional and irregular drought into a systematic and permanent one'. Forty million hectares of Spain have a Mediterranean climate. Because the rainy season and warm weather do not coincide, there is little vegetation. Planting maize, alfalfa, potatoes and beans in such a climate is not a particularly sound idea because these crops depend upon a lot of water.

In the Mancha, for instance, it takes a tonne of water to produce a kilo of maize. If water was not subsidized, as Pedro Arrojo has noted in his study of the irrigated regions of Aragï¿½n, 90 percent of this land could not be profitably farmed. This has led the historian Tello into calling for a new agricultural policy based around sustainable development which would preserve subsidies for ï¿½maintaining balanced land use and other social and environmental reasons,ï¿½ but hand out the aid directly to farms rather than using it to bring down the price of water, fuel and chemical fertilizers. If water for irrigation were not 100 times cheaper than water for industry, crops unsuited to Spainï¿½s climate would be abandoned. But Tello has proposed a solution already adopted in the United States through the California Water Bank. This ï¿½marketï¿½ allows farmers, at certain times of the year, to re-sell some of their water stocks to cities that need it. Because they make money from this, they can then grow crops that need less water, even if they are less profitable.

So the cities get the water they need, the farmers do not lose money and water resources are not over-used. Of the one billion cubic metres of water that will be diverted under the NWP, 300 million will go to the Valencia region, 430 million to Murcia, 90 to the Andalusian province of Almerï¿½a and 180 to Catalonia. But the latter has no water shortage, and is unlikely to have one for at least another 25 years judging by its current population growth. Naredo adds that after Barcelonaï¿½s preparations for the 1992 Olympic Games, which involved shutting down old industrial plants that consumed a lot of water, ï¿½the cityï¿½s water table rose to the point that it had to pump water out to avoid flooding the subway and underground parking lots.ï¿½ Tello has looked into the potential benefits of ï¿½a system that would penalize waste and encourage saving and recycling water.ï¿½ Whenever industry has realized water can cost it 10 times less through careful planning, it has changed its patterns of use.

Tello has also shown that investing 100,000 pesetas (about $500) to equip every household in Catalonia with electrical and water appliances that can save and re-use water would be cheaper than a projected scheme to channel water from the River Rhï¿½ne, in southern France, to Barcelona, at a cost of around 200 billion pesetas (more than $1 billion). Taxing water in a more consistent way would solve another big problem: that of outdated piping. Pedro Arrojo has noted that the water network in Zaragoza was so leaky that no difference was registered between daytime and nighttime consumption. In the market gardening area around Valencia, the price farmers pay for water is fixed by the amount of land they need to irrigate, meaning that losses caused by faulty piping are generally ignored. Another example is the Jucar imperial canal, which is built directly in the earth and results in massive leakage. The second largest ecological reserve under threat Spain gets 346 billion cubic metres of rainfall each year, of which 109 billion remains after evaporation.

This should be enough to meet an annual demand of 35 billion cubic metres, 80 per cent of it for agriculture, which usually pays one peso per cubic metre. In areas where the price of water for irrigation is higher (30 pesetas a cubic metre) because it comes from desalination plants or from underground, farming is very sophisticated. Almerï¿½a, which 20 years ago was Spainï¿½s poorest province, is today the countryï¿½s fastest growing one and relies upon the most foreign labour (which is neither welcomed nor assimilated). Because yields are very high, the province has 13,000 hectares of land that are illegally irrigated. The diversion of the Ebro is an ineffective response to Spainï¿½s cultural, social, political and economic problems. Opponents of the scheme say it even creates new difficulties: the defenders of the environment are especially worried that the Ebro delta, the countryï¿½s second biggest ecological reserve, might disappear. Since the end of the 19th century, sediment in the river has dropped by 95 percent.

As a result, the government has to invest about 20 billion pesetas ($100 million) to add sand to some beaches. One thing is nevertheless certain: if desertification continues to advance in Spain, the country will not be needing extra sand. December 2000 BBC NEWS | Programmes | Crossing Continents | Spain's troubled waters Wednesday, 7 August, 2002, 13:00 GMT 14:00 UK Spain's troubled waters Protesters make their point in the River Ebro Julian Pettifer click here to listen to the programme A multi billion Euro scheme designed to divert water from Spain's rainy north to it's parched south is dividing the Spanish nation. This has provoked over a million protesters to take to the streets in one of the greatest public displays of anti-government sentiment in Spain since the days of General Franco. Vicente Sicilia's produce will undoubtedly benefit from the water flow Water flowing south Vicente Sicilia's company exports 60 million kilos of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and celery each year, much of which ends up in British supermarkets. To him the Spanish government's National Hydrological Plan makes perfect sense.

"Here in Murcia we've got a wonderful climate, good land and hard working people. There's just one thing missing - water". The idea is to siphon off "excess water" from the River Ebro, which springs in the Pyrenees and ends just south of Barcelona. It involves building 118 dams and more than 1000km of canals and pipelines with an estimated price tag of 18bn Euro. One third of the money is supposed to come from European taxpayers. The Spanish government says the water is needed for the agribusiness sector that covers much of southern Spain in a sea of polytunnels and plastic sheeting. This thirsty greenhouse economy, which relies heavily on cheap immigrant labour, has brought new wealth to dry and formerly impoverished areas like Almeria and Murcia. "We've created this great miracle in Murcia", says the region's president Luis Ramon Valcarcel. "Like the Israelis we've turned desert into fertile land and we shouldn't be punished for our achievement".

New strains on water resources President Valcarcel, a fervent supporter of the National Hydrological Plan, also argues that the agribusiness sector plays a vital social role by providing immigrants from North Africa with stable work. There are claims of ecological damage in the Ebro Delta A different type of immigrant has also been moving into southern Spain in recent years. The pensioner from northern Europe. By 2020 there could be six million of them - mostly Brits and Germans - living in retirement along the Mediterranean coast. These people, along with seasonal tourists, consume huge quantities of water. Think of all the swimming pools. And in summer time, the average golf course needs 3 million litres of water every night to keep it green. Officially the water is not for tourism or urban development. But now that Spain's ruling party, the right wing Partido Popular, has liberalised water markets, many fear the farmers will simply sell off this precious resource to the highest bidder. Delta rice farmer Ibanez fears for the bird life too Yet President Valcarcel insists farmers in his region will not survive unless the plan goes ahead. He has no qualms about taking water from the Ebro.

"Every year the river just throws away 13,000 hectolitres into the Mediterranean Sea and we're just asking for a small part of that water which is wasted", he says. Plans bring conservation problems too Five hours drive to the north, people could not disagree more. Carlos Ibanez, a rice farmer and conservationist in the Ebro Delta, worries that far too much water has already been taken out of the river in earlier dam building projects. A million march in protest in the streets With a reduced flow of water, less silt is being carried downstream. As a result, the Delta - a unique wetlands habitat attracting many species of bird - is slowly disappearing into the sea. Local fishermen complain that shellfish stocks have been badly affected by increased water salinity. All over Tortosa, the main town in the Delta, you see slogans, reading: "No Transvasament! - No To the Water Transfer!" And almost everywhere there's the logo of the anti National Hydrological Plan campaign - a pipe with a knot in it. Maria Jesus, a local dentist, joined the Blue March to protest against the plan in Brussels.

"I've never been interested in politics before but this crazy scheme made me so furious I just had to do something about it." Jesus and Leonor Corral: "Our son is buried in the cemetery here" Further upstream, in the foothills of the Pyrenees, the scheme is equally unpopular. Jesus and Leonor Corral will lose their home when their village, and the valley behind it, is flooded. Three other villages, two Romanesque churches and part of the ancient pilgrims' route to Santiago de Compostela will also disappear under water. "I don't care what they do but I will never leave my home", says Leonor sitting in her front room in the little village of Eres. Her husband Jesus adds: "Our son is buried in the cemetery here. I won't be able to bear it if we have to move his coffin". Many say this water policy, which is causing so much distress, does not even make economic sense. It is seen as a scheme to provide lucrative contracts for Spain's powerful construction industry. Ambitious scheme courts controversy The Plataforma en Defensa De L'Ebre tirelessly campaign against the plans If the multi million Euro plan goes ahead, it will be the most ambitious infrastructure project in Europe.

But its critics see the plan as outdated, environmentally destructive and mired in scandal. They say it is a project designed by and for the construction industry - an industry that has disturbingly close links to Spain's political elite. Crossing Continents: Spain's water politics will be broadcast on Thursday 8 August 2002 on BBC Radio 4 at 1100 BST. Repeated on Monday 12 August 2002 on BBC Radio 4 at 2030 BST. Reporter: Julian Pettifer Ebro River Valley - Wines from Spain – Far From Ordinary Ebro River Valley External Links Ebro River Valley Rioja’s most important river isn’t the diminutive, namesake Rio Oja, but the Ebro. Snaking between the Sierra Cantábrica and the Sierra Demanda, the Ebro and its tributaries have helped carve out vineyards that have been celebrated for at least two centuries. Rioja has traditionally carried Spain’s reputation for high quality wine, at least until the late twentieth century’s explosion of new regions and grapes.

There are three sub-regions—Rioja Alavesa, Rioja Alta, and Rioja Baja—and while many describe their distinct differences, the notion of a hierarchy between them is out of touch with reality. So too the fashion with grapes: Tempranillo is king, certainly, but Garnacha, Mazuelo (Carineña), Graciano and increasing numbers of other indigenous grapes are generating new ideas and styles in the region. There are reds, whites and rosés here, but the reds account for the greater part of its fame. Aging classifications have, until recently, been the primary means for separating one wine from another: Joven (“young”) wines are for early drinking. Crianza wines are aged for two years (one of those in barrel) and are for early or mid-term enjoyment. Reserva wines (three years aging, with one of those years in barrel) can be age-worthy or offer serious immediate consumption. Gran Reserva wines have been regarded as the region’s pinnacle; they are at least five years old and generally ready to drink. But they can age for years too; their long barrel aging often renders them gentle and complex, rather than big and rich.

Today many top names are often eschewing long barrel times, and some of these Tempranillo based wines could stand in for Napa Cabernet in intensity and weight. If Rioja has been the traditional area of quality, Navarra has generally been known for quantity. That is changing more slowly than might have been hoped. International grapes such as Cabernet, Syrah and Merlot are being planted, while the DO’s historic Garnacha vineyards are ripped out. Many see that as a pity, but Navarra is still transitioning to excellence. Some other areas are already proven even if lesser known such as the limestone-rich DOs of Campo de Borja, Calatayud, Cariñena and Somontano. Juicy Garnacha is the primary driver, even in Cariñena; its namesake grape is little planted. Photo Gallery

Question: The Ebro River is in which country?
Answer: Spain